St. Paul, Minn.
(09/21/2017)—University of Minnesota Extension’s Master Naturalist Program will
lead service opportunities at 12 locations throughout the state for National
Public Lands Day on Sept. 30. An annual day of service held across the country,
National Public Lands Day is the largest, single-day volunteer effort for
public lands.

Early fall may be prime time for planting grass seed, but a recent University of Minnesota Extension survey shows many Twin Cities residents who will be seeding could be grossly overwatering it. In fact, the study funded by the Metropolitan Council revealed more than sixty percent of people with irrigation systems regularly over-irrigate their lawns by watering on an automatic cycle.

“Don’t run your entire irrigation system to irrigate the ten percent of your lawn where you’ve planted seed over existing grass,” said Sam Bauer, an Extension educator who specializes in turf grass science. “We found that in the spring people set up their irrigation systems for watering every other day following their city’s odd-even watering ordinances. That’s way too often, and certainly unnecessary.” In the metro, monthly water use is nearly three times greater in the summer compared to the winter, mostly due to outdoor watering, according to the Metropolitan Council.

On Tuesday, September 19, the University of Minnesota will host Minnesota Sparks in Crookston, Minn., at the Bede Ballroom. The event, hosted by University of Minnesota Regent Tom Anderson, will bring three University researchers—who are tackling some of the area’s most critical issues—into conversation with members of the local community.